SNOWY AFTERNOON

it is snowy here in new York wind howling outside and down right "COLD" and can you believe that it is suppose to get colder along with a big snow maybe a nor'easter which usually brings us lots of snow in the next couple of days ..we maybe delayed a day or two before we get out of here...oh well guess we will just have to roll with it.. in todays mail was a surprise for me...a hand made crochett hook made by my brother so I had to try it out...it worked just swell...and whipped up the hat in no time..it will get lots of use on our travels.. hope everyone is ready for the new year and it brings much joy and happiness.. god bless

CHRISTMAS 2013

our house is now quiet and there is just the two of us running around in it...the family started to arrive on sun afternoon and continued until tues evening..so we all had had a couple of days of fun before the last arrived...it was the first time we a had all been together since 2006 and lisa like a kid in a candy store and you told her that she could have all she wanted..why was she excited will it was because all her kids were here so she was a happy "teenager" ahhaha...it made for some hetic times but over all it was fun to have everyone here... andy and lisa brought a HUGE pan of lasagna which was enough to feed an army....then we had all the trimmings of a Christmas dinner so if anyone went away hungry it was their own fault... the family---then the whole family---an reenactment of a picture we took when the g/kids were all under 10

SEASON S OVER!!!!

NOW EXACTLY WHAT SEASON AM I TALKING ABOUT...THE CHRISTMAS SEASON IS FAST APPROACHING US AND ARE WE READY..OH NOT YET STILL GOT SOME BAKING TO DO..GIRFTS ALL DONE AND WRAPPED ---OOPS MENU IS ALL PLANNED ()I THINK) ...just some final grocery shopping to do one of these days ..this year lisa and andy will be down and also grandkids from pa..they haven't been here in years so it is going to be fun..hope the weather stays ok especially for driving...Shasta will be the only one not here unless that changes due to working...lisa is excited just like a little kid as all her kids are going to be here... now for the season that is over...yesterday around 4pm larry shot for the first time a deer with his muzzle loader so he is also excited abut that...we were in the dining room talking to his brother when we saw 1 deer walk across the back yard then another one and another one till there was four...he all of a sudden got the fever and got the "smoke pole" ...made a shot and it went right down...now the total of the deer take for this house if 4 and our freezer is full...so now it is a part of lisa and andy's Christmas present...ought to feed them for the winter... we have snow and it looks like it is going to be a white Christmas so everyone is happy..some very cold temps thou and some areas getting lots of snow 2 feet or more...are ground has about 2 inches for now but will probally get more... so all in all life is good at 464 wishing everyone a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR---may it be filled with much happiness and joy...

2 HORSES

when we bought the new rig lar thought oh it would be nice to have a horse on the wind defector so he asked the sales man about getting one...brian the sales person had never heard of anyone wanting one or getting one but he was willing to ask about getting one..so he contacted his sales rep at open range and between the two of them lar finally got one in the mail...so now he is a happy man cause now instead of 1 horse he now has 2.. so today we were at the fire station working out and he decided that as long as were going to be inside would be a good time to give the defector a bath and mount the horse on it..so that is what we did after church today...now instead of following one horse's a--- down the road it will be 2..ahhaahhaah fall has finally going out the window..the temps have gotten colder and we started up the wood stove the other day especially when it was so damp..felt good and still does...leaves are almost gone from the trees and have been blown around the yard..so I guess it is time to think about the next season.. oh don't you think he looks like the killroy was here cartoon!!!!!!

STUCK

ok so who gets stuck in the mud!!!!! oh it isn't me!!!!!!! lar wanted to mow around the pond above the house and the next thing i know he is back and i don't hear the lawn mopwer running...i ask him what wrong thought maybe he drove it in ahahahaha.. oh he says just stuck..so off we went with the bulldog and i pulled him out of the mud...sorry no pictures as i forgot the camera...but at least it wasn't me who got MY lawn mower stuck in the mud.. great fall day right now..but suppose to turn this afternoon to several days of rain and the possiblity of snow flurries...just in time for halloween...

NIGHTLY VISITOR

we keep a hav-a-hart trap set on our back porch to catch us chipmuck and squirrels as we know some of them are finding their way into the garage and house...they can do damage so we like to catch them then lar takes them to the woods or even to the pond where he gives them swimming lessons...last night in the middle of the night I kept hearing this clink and the rattle of the trap thinking oh good we have caught us another one of those pesky creature

...lar is up early as he was going to go turkey hunting but came back to bed as it was raining out and was kinda on the miserable side...then it was time to really get up for the morning..out he goes to the dining room saying you'd never guess what is in the trap..oh a squirrel..nope he says better than that..it has a black strip donw it's back and also some white..oh my I say a SKUNK now what are we going to do with that..after some discussion it was decided to cover the cage and take it away..so lar got an old army poncho that he could also attach a pole to carry it away with..so off he went with it... we were lucky that it didn't spray it's scent not sure if the reason was because it couldn't raise it's tail or what but we were lucky that it didn't leave any scent around the house or even get lar.. just one more exciting thing about living in the country you just never know who or what might come calling in the night..

HAPPY HAPPY SQUIRRELS

this year our walnut trees are really loaded and when they fall they sure make a mess of the lawn...they are not the easiest nuts to crack then pick out the nutmeat..soooo we usually just take them to the wood for the squirrels to do with what they want..but most years it is only a few buckets of them to handle.. but this year that is a different story..we have decided to load up the bulldog and take the nuts way back in the woods to make all the squirrels out there to be very HAPPY.. our apples are also producing like crazy...have also taken several loads of drops to the woods for the wild life to eat...been making apple sauce--pies--muffins--bread--just to name a few things we have done with the apples along with eating them..we need to keep the dr's away ahhaahahha.. so it has been a very productive fall..

as you can see the bulldog is full we think at least three bushels of those things

WHAT'S NEW

I heard stories of when lar was a young boy and he wanted a horse so bad he would cry at night..one year his parents let him buy a chance /raffle ticket on a pony and NO he did not win he so he was heart broken...they gave him a rocking horse and several other horse things over the years to make him happy... SO NOW HE HAS A HORSE

yep it is a new fifth wheel!!!!!!!!! we started shopping for one soon after we got back home this summer..we have been talking that maybe the time is getting close for us to bite the bullet and look for something new...the silverback was 7 yrs old and had over 65,000 miles on it as near as lar could figure...so we went to several different rv dealers and this is the one we found more to our liking...lar did not want anything longer than whan we had and only 2 slides...we ended up with one that is a 1 1/2 longer and three slides...last week was spent empting out the old one--and saying where did all this "STUFF" come from as box after box came out...this weekend we have been starting tp put box after box back in the new one...we want to spend time going thur the stuff to see what we might get rid of...stuff we haven't used in years...so the fun is beginning around here... NOW LAR IS A HAPPY MAN !!!!!!!!! ahhahaahahahhahaha

A WEEK HOME

as you know we are now home and arrived last sat around 5 or so give or take a wee bit... we had company arriving on wed from Colorado springs--friends we have know for a few years and of course first met them on a habit build where we first met them in tucson, az then in dade city...they are on their way to maine to see the leaves change in the northeast...Ithaca in right on the way so they stopped for a few days..had a good time visiting and showing them the sights of the finger lakes region of NY... of course we visit wineries--women's rights museum--saunders--and what ever else we came across to see and do.. on fri we were on our way to corning to visit the museum and went into Watkins glen for breakfast and don't you know the town had a big vintage car festival going on with a race at the track...so instead of going to corning we just stopped in Watkins to see all the old cars..so that changed our plans cause by the time all the cars had been looked at there really wasn't much time to go to the museum as we would have just gotten there and then it would have closed..so back to Ithaca we went to show all the falls and cornel campus...we had a good visit with pat and colleen... they are now on their way to the 1,000 islands and heading to maine with the hopes on making it to nova scotia...most of all they want to see the leaves and the beautiful colors..

pat is putting NY on the map...they almost have all the states --just a few more to go..

LAST FEW NATIONAL PARKS

we are now home and have traveled some --close to 9,000 miles so now our feet will be in one place for a couple of months before we take off again..we visited some 34 national parks--historic sites--monuments and got 47 stamps for our book...don't ask which one was the best cause there is no best or favorite each and every one had something special about it that ewe enjoyed...now there are a lot more for us to visit one of these days years...we have a mission and that is to get to as many national parks as we can and the list keeps growing... the last one was steamtown in Scranton, pa and because it was a holiday weekend they were having a special train weekend so there were way tooooo many visitors there so we did not get to see as much as we would have liked but we can always return if wanting too... now that we are back there is a lot of catching up to do around...there is always the lawn which we had mowed but the grass doesn't stop growing till the snow flies...and because of the flood damage we experienced while we were gone there is some clean-up of that...stones and gravel in places that it shouldn't be... of course a lot of general things to get done along with unpacking the rig...ugh... soo we had a great summer saw friends-- filled some of the things on our bucket list---saw and id things we never thought we would have--so all's well with us

ok the pictures fort necessity--can you imagining that holding on to an attack friendship hill where we listened to some period flute music Dwight and mamie eisenhowwer house sunset in pa and of course trains from steamtown..

MORE PARKS

we have visited a couple more national parks..fort necessity where George Washington was in charge his first battle... then signed where he admitted to killing a French general the only problem is that is was written in French and he had no idea what it really said...then it was history from there.. then a visit to friendship hill where a man by the name of gallatin lived and at one time in his time he served as secerety of treasury and the books were in the black (we need him now).. today we are off to the Eisenhower here in gettysburgh then more civil war info.. no pictures as I have been having a heck of a time getting them posted..

LINCOLN--

last night we went to the cementry where abe --mary--and the three boys are buried here in springfield...one of their boys is buried in Arlington.. they do an retiring of the flag ceremony every tues night and if you get there in time you can ut your name in the basket to win the flag...(no we did not win) today the first part of the morning was to do laundry so we have enough clean clothes hahahaha.. back to the rig for lunch then off to the Illinois state museum where we spent another aomost 3 hrs at...one ting they had there was maybe 10 or more quilts that had been given to some of the troops during the war...sure don't know why they are in as good as condition as they are but most impressive...of course the work was all done by hand no fancy sewing machines then.. tomorrow we are on the move again..not sure where we are heading need to talk about it and check to see what we might want to see or do along the route we pick.. all's well

if you noticed Lincoln's nose and it is shinny there of course is a reason..some time ago people started to rub it to bring them good luck so now most everyone rubs the nose for good luck..yep we did but maybe we h=should have gone out to buy a lottery ticket after rubbing it but we didn't...

LINCOLN

today was Lincoln day..first we spent the morning at the Lincoln home which is the national park..toured the home and watched a movie.. off to lunch then to the NEW Lincoln museum where we spent over 3 hrs...it is a place that we would recommend to anyone who gets to springfield , il... the museum is fairly new not sure when it opened up but well worth it..and cause we bought a presidential museum pass for all the ones that the national archives is in charge of we got in for half price 6 instead of 12 but for seniors it would have been 9..so right now we are ahead as far as money goes..the price of the Eisenhower pass (where we got it) was 30$ and we not only did eisenhower but also Truman now Lincoln...there are a couple more on our list to see this coming winter..jimmy carter in Atlanta and maybe bush's in dallas...we are ahead of the entrance fees I do not like going around Atlanta but I guess I will have to put up with it and also dallas..I just don't like big cities and their traffic...ugh..

pictures if you haven't figured them out...the bed abe slept in the original wood stove mary todd used the house

ILLINOIS

sunday we did the Ulysses s grant national park and learnt all about the old boy..he was no in favor of slaves and had many discussion with his father in law regarding having them...visit his house and farm where he lived after he got married.. we are now in springfield, il and on our way stopped by a new museum (free) about route 66 and the town of lichtfield an interesting little museum..we also had lunch in a old route 66 diner...both os us had fish and about 1/2 hr after we got back on the road my old stomach (guts) started to do flip flops and it wasn't to long after we stopped at a rest area to use the restrooms...so I was glad we only had a short day of driving as I really started to not feel so good...not sure if I have a touch of food poisoning or not...or it could be I had French fries which I haven't eaten in a long time but they did taste good... tomorrow we plan on visiting with abe Lincoln--- maybe the state museum and more route 66 stuff all up in the air as to what and all we want to see here.. we are camped in the Illinois state fair grounds which is good size and we sure lucked out on this one...their state fair ended yesterday so there were some spaces available...glad we didn't want to be here over the weekend...

ARCH

we have now arrived in st Louis and no not Missouri but Illinois across the mighty Mississippi river from st Louis mo...we decided to stay in the Illinois side of st Louis in a casino rv park and NO we have not been in the casino and not sure if we will..who knows if we get bored and want something to do but I don't think that will be the case... today we went off to the arch and see what that was all about and of course it is a national park..as some of you know I DO NOT like heights and we were told if there is any kinda of wind you can feel the thing move (sway) so I decided to keep my feet on the round and lar took a ride to the top...when he finally got back down he said it wasn't all that bed and I might have been ok with it..i just felt safer on the ground..and it was a small thing you had to ride up in... then we looked at the museum of the western movement and saw a wonderful lewis and clark movie...as of now lar and I think we have traveled most if not all of the lewis and clark trail on one trip or another...not all at once thou.. now time for the old courthouse..again interesting part of our history... we have another day here in st Louis and there is another national park nearby so that will be on the list of things to do tomorrow

TRUMAN MUSEUM

today we finally made it to the Truman museum and spent over 3 1/2 hrs there..we took a guided tour of the museum then saw a 45 minute movie on his life...by then it was time to go out to the truck and have a granola bar as we were both getting a wee bit hungry by then...after that it was time to go back in and see what we had missed..the tour just hits the high parts and we wanted to see some more stuff..did you now that Truman was the first president that started our medicare a going...now it didn't pass till Johnson got into office but he thought of it first...harry was also the president that passed into law about the presidential library/museums and that the former president have to raise funds for their libraries/museum...then all the papers go to the srchives and really become property of the government...after harry left office he really wanted to live a private life and tried as much as he did to do so...a fence had to be put around his house to keep out NOISY PEOPLE who wanted a treasure or two from the property...an interesting man he was... so now we know more about Truman but will we remember I sure hope so...